It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” quoth Andy Williams – and Staples. Those actually returning to classes might take issue, were it not for the cool new technology they will be sporting.

Unlike the “when I was your age” days, when school was at the end of a two-mile hike through a raging blizzard, uphill both ways, and when “digital computing” meant counting on your fingers, students today are the beneficiaries of a bewildering array of technology not too long ago the exclusive property of NASA, the Department of Defense and the CIA.

It’s not so much that students are becoming jaded in demanding ever more sophisticated equipment, but the technology is advancing at a startling pace and education at all levels is keeping up, rather than catching up.

Computers are to students today what #2 pencils were to us – a must-have. But which one? Does one size fit all? Hardly. Laptops come in a bewildering array of sizes, styles and capabilities, from super-slim ultrabook flyweights that weigh barely 2.5 pounds to heavy-duty desktop replacement behemoths that tip the beam at 10 pounds or more.

The school will frequently list minimum specifications for student computers – acceptable operating systems and browsers, processor speed, RAM and hard disk capabilities. WiFi capability is usually a must; Bluetooth is occasionally convenient. Students should not need mobile broadband options, like 3G or 4G LTE. Battery life should not be an issue. Mainstream laptops tend to come with a battery that lasts between five and seven hours on a charge.

Today most laptops come with 320GB or 500GB hard drives, with step-ups of 750GB and 1TB available. Actually, though, the only people who really need all that space are videographers. USB 3.0, which offers greater bandwidth and faster data transfer, has all but supplanted USB 2.0. Apple offers a Thunderbolt interface that is even faster than USB 3.0 for monitors, storage and docking stations.

Quietly fading away are the optical drives – CD and DVD read/write drives, and it’s easy to see why. With so many software and game purchases occurring on-line, and cloud services taking over for many local applications, the optical drive has been all but dropped, leaving laptops thinner and lighter.

A computer owned by a student is likely to lead a hard life. Most laptops are backed by a one-year limited warranty on parts and labor. This warranty can be extended in most cases for an additional two years. The limitations exclude things like a spilled drink or a drop to a hard surface. For events like these, accident coverage is available from most manufacturers.

Personalizing a computer requires accessories, and the accessories that make the most sense are a mouse, an external hard drive for backup, and one or more flash drives.

If you don’t like using the ubiquitous touch pad, a mouse is still available. They come in corded and cordless styles, some with trackballs, others with odd ergonomic shapes, with and without thumbwheels, but their purpose is what it has always been: point and click. And they are relatively inexpensive.

An external hard drive can be a lifesaver, especially when paired with an automatic backup program. An external drive dedicated to backups will eliminate that demand for space from your internal hard drive. A drive with a capacity of 1TB should be ample for most backup applications. Peace of mind should cost $100 plus or minus a little bit.

A flash drive (aka thumb drive) is like a scratch pad. You can carry around individual files, or groups of files – homework, music, whatever -- without carrying your computer. They can also be used to transfer files quickly between computers.

Considering a tablet for school? Don’t. It’s more than a smart phone but less than a laptop. It’s good for surfing the net, gaming, e-mail, and other activities that are not mission-critical. True, textbooks can be downloaded, and there are a few educational apps, but for the most part, it’s something you want, not something you need.

Not so with phones. Cell phones have become standard, nay, vital equipment for a large fraction of teens and pre-teens in the US, and carriers derive about 25 percent of their revenues from this age group.

It’s easy for parents of new cell phone users to get burned by a too-easy cell phone usage policy. Charges for excess minutes, text messages, phone-based e-mail and other services add up quickly. The solution is usually found by selecting one of the four general types of cell phone plans that works best for the particular situation.

With a stand-alone plan, the student has his own cell phone account and is billed for the service. There are a limited number of airtime minutes and a per-minute charge when that number is exceeded.

With a companion plan, a phone is added to the account of a parent and the minutes are shared between multiple phones.

The local unlimited plan offers unlimited minutes for local and incoming calls, but charges per minute for long distance calls.

The prepaid plan is the simplest. The student pays up front for a specific number of minutes, and when the minutes are gone, so is the cell service.

Most carriers offer variations on these themes, so comparison shopping is definitely in order.

Two caveats regarding cell phones in school:

Teachers are reporting a small but growing trend to use cell phones for cheating – texting answers to tests, searching the web for answers during a test, and other innovative ways. In some schools, students are required to turn in their cell phones before a test and retrieve them afterward.

Students should be reminded that there may be severe legal consequences for using a cell phone’s camera to secretly take photos or capture video clips that invade someone’s privacy.

Another high-tech must-have is the calculator. Many schools that require graphing calculators have standardized on the Texas Instruments TI-83, -84 or -85. These devices have the number-crunching power of a desktop of not that many years ago, as well as more functions than most engineering grad students will ever need. Even the simplest models have the capability of graphing complex functions, performing statistical analyses and solving calculus problems.

That’s the good news. It’s also the bad news. It’s bad news because students are learning to enter data, push a few buttons and see the answer pop up like a piece of toast. By solving problems this way, the student has no idea of the reasoning or the logic that went into the solution. At the same time, without an understanding of how the solution is developed, the student has no idea whether or not the answer is correct, or even plausible. But I digress (descending from soap box).

Amazingly, as popular as these TI calculators have been, prices have remained within a narrow range of $80 to 90. Also interesting, they do not come with owner’s manuals. You can download one, if you like, and print it at no charge. But make sure your paper bin is full – it’s about 350 pages.

There is one more item that few people regard as high-tech, but it really is: the backpack.

Backpacks need to be tried on and fitted because poor fit and incorrect use can cause muscle strain and pain. The importance of the fit of a backpack in younger students becomes apparent when considering the length of the walk to the bus stop or school, and the length of time the student will be carrying a heavy load.

No more than 15 percent of a child’s weight should be in the backpack. The backpack should be sized so that the hip belt rests on the hip bones. Without a hip belt, the load is carried on the shoulders, which can result in upper back and neck strains. Some ergonomic backpacks come with sternum straps to hold the pack in place, and others feature molded backs to encourage proper posture.

It may not look cool but the best way to carry a backpack is high, with straps on both shoulders, and the hip belt and sternum strap fastened and snug.